SAY IT AIN'T SO

18 May, 2017

Rep. Dana Rohrabacher,

101 Main Street #380

Huntington Beach, CA 92648

Dear Congressman,

Re: Say it ain’t so

I refer you to the article that appeared in the May 17 issue of the Washington Post, with quotations from the transcript of a recorded conversation between House Speaker Paul Ryan and House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy. In discussing Russia and Ukraine McCarthy said, and I quote, “There’s two people I think Putin pays: Rohrabacher and Trump… Swear to God.” To which Ryan responded: “This is an off the record… NO LEAKS… alright,” punctuated by laughter. And added: “This is how we know we’re all family here.”

What a family, Congressman! What a mess we’re all in! To hear the two leaders of your party lump you together with Trump and speculate that you’re both paid by Putin is distressing, to say the least, to this constituent. Most distressing, perhaps, because the conversation, cynical as it is, has the ring of truth. The New York Times describes you as Putin’s “most vigorous defender in Congress.”

I read further in the New York Times that you took McCarthy’s remark in good part, recognizing it as not untypical of the House Leader’s sense of humor. The thing is, a joke is only funny for the grain of truth it contains. I do not imagine that you are actually receiving checks signed by Russia’s President, but your support for his actions remains a mystery. Does he not represent everything that you, as a Republican, oppose?

And what about Trump? More serious, and sadder, is the possibility that McCarthy is right about Putin’s man in the White House. We have yet to “follow the money” and find out exactly what his financial ties were, but enough has already been revealed to more than justify the appointment of that special counsel.

What say you to all this? Are you finally ready to support action to preserve our Constitution?

Respectfully,

Peter Clothier, Ph.D.